If you are a frequent flier, and a fan of using plastic over hard cash, then doubtless you will be aware that you can collect points for spending with your credit card that can be used to subsidise your air miles.

Before you pull out and flourish your credit card to pay for your goods and services whilst travelling overseas, think twice – then think again!

Withdrawing money using a credit card is a costly move even in your own country – credit card companies penalise cash withdrawers heavily with a host of associated charges – and the same applies overseas – don’t think the same rules do not apply.Read more “3 Overseas Credit Cards To Use Abroad”

It’s also a haven for the world’s rich and wealthy; the “made-it” or “making-it” class who find Singapore’s always-on, hard working and uber-disciplined business culture very much to their tastes (as well as the super stylish malls, country clubs and man made Sentosa beach – the most Southerly tip of Asia). It is rumoured that roughly one in every three Singaporean citizens is a millionaire.

In all respects, Singapore is a state that punches above its weight, so perhaps it’s hardly surprising that The Lion State has retained its spot at the top of HSBC’s rankings, in the 2018 version of its 2018 Expat Explorer survey.

Reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of the survey, New Zealand places 2nd this year, and Germany third. Three contrasting countries, each with different strengths and weaknesses; it just goes to show that expats relocate for all kinds of reasons; work, family, romance, adventure, escape; and what suits one type of expat explorer may not suit another.

Canada and Bahrain take spots 4 and 5 on the list. Both are traditionally popular destinations for expats, and again for contrasting reasons. Bahrain ranked number 1 in Internations’ comprehensive analysis of all things expat related, thanks to its friendly environment, high quality infrastructure and job security, whilst Canada offers first-world living in beautiful surroundings, plus an eclectic culture and stable political environment.

Completing HSBC’s Top 10 are Australia, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, and the United Arab Emirates.

Before we take a deep dive into selected countries next week, let’s examine what makes Singapore the outstanding expat destination in HSBC’s eyes.

The split of male to female amongst Singapore expats is 60/40, and the vast majority (56%) are aged between 36-54. On average, expats earn in the region of $221,500 SGD, which works out at approximately $160,000 USD – one of the healthiest wage packages on offer for expats anywhere in the world.

Although Singapore boasts outstanding cultural, social and family life, inevitably, when it comes to the reasons why expats make the move there, career progression comes first. Singapore rewards hard work and dedication and its entire culture is designed to give individuals the greatest chance of personal success.

Living and working in Singapore is in every sense a challenge, that expats must embrace. Finance, consulting, trade, and hi-tech are the dominant industries, but Singapore is also embracing start-up culture, and most notably fintech, with the Monetary Authority Singapore (MAS) having built bridges with countries and cities all over the world, from London, to Sydney, to the Caribbean.

This content is sourced and brought to you by The Money Cloud – comparing the best rates for sending money overseas offered by hand-picked, regulated brokers and money transfer agencies.

This week at The Money Cloud we are taking stock of the latest Internations Annual expat survey. Yesterday we explored the global networking and event company’s overall country ratings, which saw Bahrain emerge for the second year running, as the top rated destination for expats, with Taiwan a close second, Ecuador third, and reality checks for the likes of the UK, India and Saudi Arabia.

Anybody considering life as an expat should pay special attention to Internation’s latest Expat Insider survey. The international networking and events group for people living overseas questioned more than 18,000 people to compile its annual list of the best and worst destinations for expats, based on factors such as Quality of Life, Ease of Settling In, Working Abroad, Family Life, and Personal Finance.Read more “This Gulf State Has Just Been Voted Best Expat Destination For The Second Year Running”

When things starts to go wrong for a country, economically, politically, or socially, its wealthiest citizens are usually the first to know, and also the first to jump ship and migrate somewhere else, research from AfrAsia reveals.

The bank recently published its Global Wealth Migration Review for 2018, in which it argues that a trend of departing millionaires, billionaires, and mass affluents, is nearly always a sign that a country fortunes could be in decline. According to the reports authors:

“If a country is losing a large number of HNWIs to migration, it is probably due to serious problems in that country (i.e. crime, lack of business opportunities, religious tensions etc.). Conversely, countries that attract HNWIs tend to be very healthy and normally have low crime rates, good schools and good business opportunities. “

Unlike ordinary immigrants, who can be perceived by some sections of society as taking a toll on public services and claiming benefits without contributing enough to a country’s infrastructure and society in return, wealthy immigrants are generally welcome as they very rarely take jobs from locals, and almost never claim benefits, preferring to educate their children privately, use private healthcare, and pay for their own housing.

The report goes on to suggest that “in our view, the only possible negative of taking in a wealthy person is that they can push property prices up to levels that locals cannot afford.” Some might take issue with this statement, arguing that a wealthy immigrant could have the power to upset social norms, influence local politics, or deny locals access to public land by buying it up; such circumstances have pushed New Zealand, for example, to introduce a law preventing foreigners from buying property in the country (but not before some notable Silicon Valley billionaires bought huge estates in the country and even claimed citizenship).

Of the world’s 15 million High Net Worth Individuals (HNWIs), AfrAsia calculates that some 95,000 migrated in 2017. Their preferred destination? Australia, which attracted 10,000 HNWIs, followed by the US, 9,000, Canada, 5,000, and the United Arab Emirates, 5,000. The Caribbean, Israel, Switzerland, New Zealand and Singapore all attracted more than 1,000 wealthy immigrants.

In terms of net outflows, more wealthy Chinese left their country of birth than any other, although given China’s vast population of more than 2 billion, this represents a tiny percentage of the population, and may not reveal much about the state of the country’s economy, although it is worth remembering that the Chinese government has recently imposed strict controls on Chinese moving money overseas, which may have prompted some HNWI’s to skip town altogether.

Australia represents a convenient location for Asian HNWI’s as it puts them near to the original source of their wealth, has low inheritance tax, is safe, and provides a high standard of living. Compared to the US, AfrAsia notes, wealth has grown 83%, versus 20%. That said, the US is described as a “steady performer” when it comes to attracting the world’s wealthiest immigrants, and Australia is sometimes regarded as being too much of a “nanny state”, with complex rules and regulations, by some HNWIs.

In the UK, traditionally an attractive destination for incoming HNWIs, the country experienced its first ever net outflow in 2017, with some 5,000 wealthy citizens leaving, and only 1,000 HNWIs arriving. Factors that have affected this trend reversal may include the introduction of new taxes for non-doms, high inheritance taxes, rising crime, and, of course, the threat of Brexit.

AfrAsia cited the main reasons for HNWIs decision to migrate to be schooling, financial problems, lifestyle, safety, work and business opportunities, taxes, healthcare, religious tensions and overall standard of living.

This content is sourced and brought to you by The Money Cloud – comparing the best rates for sending money overseas offered by hand-picked, regulated brokers and money transfer agencies.

Now that the light is starting to fade and the temperature is dropping across the UK and Europe, it may be as good a time as any to reimagine those dreams of emigrating abroad.

Many of us have thought about, or perhaps been given the opportunity to relocate abroad. Whilst there are many good reasons; children at school, family at hand, the language barrier; to name a few, not to take the plunge, there are just as many persuasive reasons why 2019 might be the perfect year to seize the opportunity for a new and revitalising life experience.

At The Money Cloud we have kept a close eye on the Indian micro-payments market. It is fascinating for a number of reasons: firstly, it showcases some of the most advanced fintech being developed anywhere in the world; secondly, it is a model that it is likely to have a transformative effect on the way people pay for things, not just in India, but all over the world. Thirdly, it is a place where social media giants embrace finance, and lastly, it is an open field and nobody knows who will emerge triumphant from this fragmented and highly competitive market.

This week, an article in Bloomberg revealed that Warren Buffett had invested into Paytm, which demonstrates just how influential and lucrative the payments market in India looks set to become. According to Credit Suisse, the market will soon (by 2023) reach $1 trillion dollars, and stands at $200 billion today. But this volume accounts for just 30% of all payments, with the rest being made in cash. Compared with a market like China, where the mobile payments market is already worth $5 Trillion.

According to journalists Suritha Rai ad Anto Anthony, the major difference between the Chinese and Indian payments markets is that China is a closed shop to foreigners, whilst India’s government is welcoming international players to launch their services in the country. Hence, the world is looking on to see the future of the payments industry being incubated. India’s government is keen to move towards a cashless society, and has provided an enviable payments infrastructure to facilitate digital wallets, and domestic and international payments.

Looking at the numbers, however, it is Indian born services that are leading the way. Flipkart has generated more than 133m downloads, whilst Paytm leads the way with more than 150m. Google Tez apparently has 50m users, whilst another Indian firm, BHIM, has pulled in 32m customers.

What the Silicon Valley tech giants do have, however, is a colossal number of users who may well be tempted to switch their payments habits if the likes of Facebook, Google, and Apple can make their payments options more visible, effective, and a good cultural fit. In this regard, WhatsApp, which is phenomenally popular in India, is one to watch, but is yet to progress beyond the beta testing phase.

Google Tez has changed tack, and is now known as Google Pay, launching with a range of new services including splitting bill payments, and tap-tap-go style functionality that makes pinging rupees around as easy as messaging a friend.

And then there is Ant Financial, the Chinese fintech giant that commands huge volumes of transactions in the East, and is determined to break into markets including Africa, India, and the US, have narrowly missed out on the acquisition of MoneyGram last year.

Finally, could blockchain based payments apps make an impact on the market? Again, here, foreign players are on the charge, with Singapore based LaLa World has been making headlines, whilst online startup mag Inc42 lists no fewer than 13 new entrants, all with ambitions to be the everyday Indians preferred payments choice.

Warren Buffet et al should not expect to have things easy, but as things stand, it seems the Sage of Omaha has backed the right horse.

This content is sourced and brought to you by The Money Cloud – comparing the best rates for sending money overseas offered by hand-picked, regulated brokers and money transfer agencies.

This week the pound has hit new lows for the year against both the Dollar and the Euro. Upbeat trade news from the US coupled with rising inflation rates in the UK has seen the pound drop as low as $1.27 against the dollar, whilst weak retail sales figures and the looming threat of a no-deal Brexit caused a drop against the euro to €1.12.Read more “Are Brexit Woes Boosting Britain’s Luxury Goods Market?”

Have you ever considered getting your medical treatment abroad? This increasingly popular industry caters for a variety of treatments, from dentistry, to fertility treatment, to cosmetic surgery, to orthopaedics, and is driven by a surprising disparity in the costs of the same treatments in different parts of the world, and the quicker availability of treatments in some countries as opposed to others.Read more “$60bn Medical Tourism Industry Is Thriving; But Watch Out For Exchange Rate Fluctuations”